EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON METABOLIC RATES OF LIVER AND BROWN FAT HOMOGENATES

Abstract

The effects of temperature in vitro upon metabolic rates of homogenates of brown fat and liver from control and cold-acclimated rats have been examined over the range 10–37 °C. At all temperatures, brown adipose tissue exhibits a higher rate of oxygen consumption [Formula: see text] than does liver, α-ketoglutarate being used as substrate. At 10 °C, brown adipose tissue retains a larger percentage (36–38%) of its 37 °C metabolic rate than does liver (22–24%).Q10 values and energies of activation (Ea) have been determined and compared with other data reported for these tissues. At 20 °C, breaks appear in the Arrhenius plots for liver from both control and cold-acclimated rats and also for brown fat from control rats, but not for the brown fat from cold-acclimated rats. Thus brown adipose tissue from cold-acclimated rats retains relatively higher levels of respiration at temperatures below the 20 °C breaking point than does brown fat from control rats.In view of previously reported cold-induced increases in mass, vascularity, and [Formula: see text] of brown fat, this decreased temperature sensitivity in the cold-acclimated rats appears wholly consonant with the adaptive behavior of brown fat in its role as a thermogenic effector.